what we could've been
by Astral Fire-Bird
Summary: Natsu's got a surprise for Lucy, but he's gone before it happens. Wow, my worst summary in a while...


**"Jeulnola" is a place I just made up. It's a very busy and economic town, and it sells lots of real gemstones.**

* * *

"LucyLucyLucyLucyLucy!"

he blond haired mage looked up, smiling. "Hi, Natsu."

The dragonslayer was clearly out of breath, and he was clutching a piece of paper in his hands while huffing, bending over to try to catch his breath. Happy was staring up at Lucy with the same smile and eyes he always had when he was teasing people about being a couple. Lucy chuckled nervously at Happy, who surprisingly stayed silent.

"Lu-cy…" Natsu wheezed, looking up at his girlfriend with a huge smile on his face. "I…ha…have something…to…tell you."

"Catch your breath first," Lucy laughed, patting the seat next to her. Natsu plopped on the barstool and faced Lucy, all traces of exhaustion gone, only to be replaced by excitement and…was that a trace of nervousness Lucy saw?

"Uhm…well, expect a package tomorrow!" Natsu's eyes were shining, but he was fiddling with his scarf a bit. Lucy raised her eyebrows.

"A package of what?" she asked, tilting her head to the side curiously. But Natsu had jumped up, grinning. "I'm also going on a solo mission in Jeulnola, okay? I'll be back after your package arrives!" He grinned and waved at her one last time before sprinting away, dashing out of the guild hall like a bullet.

Lucy stared at the guild doors for a long time before she turned to Happy. "Natsu's being a bit weird, don't you think?"

"Aye," came the muffled reply, as the blue Exceed had stuffed his face with fish.

* * *

Lucy stared at the little box on her doorstep, wrapped up in brown paper. Attached to it was a hastily scrawled note;

_DO NOT OPEN UNTIL I GET BACK_!

Curious but not wanting to ruin the surprise, Lucy smiled a little and kept the box under her bed for safekeeping. Soon, Natsu would be back, and she could open the little box and find out just what it was (though she did have suspicions)!

* * *

"No!"

Lucy looked up from writing her novel and turned to look at Mirajane, who was staring at the newspaper with wide, horrified eyes.

"What is it, Mira-san?" Lucy asked, walking over to the shaking barmaid. "Is it another dark guild causing troubel?"

But when she read the headlines, her heart skipped a beat.

_MASS MURDER IN JEULNOLA_

_The seemingly peaceful and calm afternoon…mages were unable to use magic…killer escaped…list of people who were caught in it…_

Natsu wouldn't be stuck in such a ridiculous situation, Lucy though to herself, frantically searching the name list.

Right?

And then she saw it – clear as day, it seemed to stand out more than the other names in tiny print.

Lucy fell to her knees.

_List of people who were caught in the incident:_

_NATSU DRAGNEEL_

* * *

Lucy sat in front of the cold, gray tombstone. She reached forward and brushed her fingers gently on the stone, and she frowned. Natsu was not cold, gray, and motionless. The grave was too unfitting, and sometimes Lucy didn't find it believable.

She stared blankly at the engraved words, burning them into her eyes until they were just lines and dots that were meaningless. She wanted the tears to fall, to do something, but she remained thoughtless.

And she began to talk, letting out the things she wanted to say for those long, cold, and lonely months, needing someone – anyone – and it tore her apart to think that the one she loved the most was not there with her.

"I always dreamed of us getting married. But I'd thought you were a bit too dense to even know how to propose, and I was even talking to Mira whether or not women could propose to men. Well, women can do that, but it'd be a bit embarrassing to have me propose to you, ne?

Maybe we could've even had children together. I wonder who they would be? I'd prefer a boy and a girl, but I'm sure the boy would grow up to want to destroy everything and eat sloppily like you do." Lucy let out a humorless laugh. "And I and the girl would have to clean up after you, but we would support you and love you."

Lucy hadn't even noticed that tears were gathering in her eyes, threatening to break through and fall. Lucy refused to let that happen. She refused to let herself cry.

"But you're here with me now, right? So that means I can open the thing you sent me." Lucy dug into her pockets and pulled out the package, hastily unwrapping it, revealing a navy blue box.

When she opened it and saw what was inside, her tears broke through. She wailed to the heavens as rain began its steady drip-drop. It was the sound of her soul tearing in two, shattering and healing, then shattering all over again. They could've been so happy together – lived a great life together, died in each other's arms…so why? Why was fate so cruel to her? What had she ever done?

Inside of the tiny blue box were a silver ring and a scribbled note.

_Hey Luce, I know this is sudden, but will you marry me?_

* * *

**This wasn't sad at all to me. If I made you cry (unlikely), then I will cry. Uagarh.**

**Please, if you enjoyed, drop a review telling me how you felt about this…I really want to get better at writing, haha. I can't judge myself on stuff like this.**

**Arigatou~**


End file.
